NAZARETH 2000

Hany Abu-Assad (Palestine/Netherlands 2001, 55 min.)

Returning to his native city just months before the new millennium, filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad captures the daily, idiosyncratic beats of Nazareth - a city both Christians and Muslims consider one of the most sacred in the world. Set against the background of the riots surrounding a square that both the municipality and the Muslim community lay claim to, Abu-Assad allows his story to unfold through the eyes of two cynical, funny and wise gas station attendants who have been working at the service station for decades. Their comments on the political and social conditions of their city paint both a tragic and subtle image of its inhabitants.